"It was this time of year -- wintery," Francis recalled. "We didn't go outside at all. We spent all our time camping out in the recording studio. We were busy making our big, epic record, our big statement."

A "big statement" they certainly made. With "Dolittle" (along with their debut LP, "Surfer Rosa"), the Pixies cemented their place in music history, spawning a legion of imitators (you might have heard of a guy named Kurt Cobain) and shaping the sound of alternative rock for years to come.

The Pixies return to the area for performances at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on Sunday, Jan. 19, and the Shubert Theatre in New Haven on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

In a recent interview, Francis, the Pixies' 48-year-old frontman, discussed the "accident" that was the band's reunion, the untimely departure of longtime bassist Kim Deal (who has since been replaced by A Perfect Circle's Paz Lenchatin), the band's first original music in nine years and the possibility of recording more material in Stamford.

Q: From what I understand, The Pixies reunion was never supposed to happen. You made a joke about getting back together during a radio interview 10 years ago and the press ran with it. Then you guys started talking about actually getting back together. Did you ever think that something that started as an accident would last for this long?

A: It's just what happened. I don't really know why. People kept asking us to keep playing again and again. We said, `Oh, OK; the last one was pretty fun, so let's do it again.' When you're enjoying something, you keep on going. That's originally why we broke up. It got to a place where it wasn't very much fun anymore, so I bailed.

Q: What's different this time around?

A: We're older and more mature now, and everyone is less of a hothead. We're able to get through eight or nine years of touring together without any major meltdowns.

Q: Why did Kim Deal decide to leave the band? If it wasn't an issue with being on tour, what was it?

A: We were all very aware that Kim had some reticence about recording new music. We were hoping that it wasn't going to become an issue during the recording session, but it did. We weren't surprised, but we were disappointed. There were no hard feelings. Everyone has their own reason for not wanting to do something. It's only music. We're not talking about someone losing a limb here. We ended on a good note with her.

Q: Was there ever any thought that Kim's departure would mean the end of the recording session, maybe even the band itself?

A: We're not the types of people who are going to the pull plug on the whole affair just because it didn't go according to plan. We're still on tour all the time, playing shows and getting songs together for another recording session.

Q: Judging by the response from fans, no one has gotten tired of hearing your hit songs. Why are you guys so set on recording new material?

A: It starts to be embarassing to only be in reunion encore mode. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis thing. Whatever it is, there's no way I'm going to just go out quietly playing "Where Is My Mind." I'm willing to put out a record and have everyone say it's a piece of crap. You have to try.

Q: I understand you guys worked on "Dolittle" in Stamford. What do you remember about being up here?

A: Stamford was where we mixed "Dolittle." We also did a lot of recording and vocals and lead guitar there. We were impressed by the whole affair. It was our first big budget record. We spent 60 grand. At the time, that was a lot of money! We were camping out in the studio in a nice apartment there, sleeping upstairs. Maybe we'll go back there someday. We have a lot of good memories of being there.